Ninja Tune XX - 20 Years of Beats 'n' Pieces

Ninja Tune XX Info

Welcome, come on in, sit down, be at ease. I want to take you back - back, back, back into the mists of time, when Margaret Thatcher was still - just - in power, Nelson Mandela had just been released from prison, the World Cup was won not by Germany but by West Germany and a man called Tim Berners-Lee published a formal proposal for something esoteric called the World Wide Web. And two young DJ/producers, fresh from their success with the likes of household names such as Yazz and Lisa Stansfield as well as in their own right, returned from a tour of Japan sick of major label bullsh*t and decided to set up on their own. These two fresh-faced young men, Jon More and Matt Black, collectively known as Coldcut, made NINJA TUNE.

Twenty years! Twenty fu*king years!? That's a long time for anything, but for an independent record label it's aeons. So yes, we are going to make a fuss. Yes, we are going to celebrate. But this will not be a tired cash-in, a festival of re-tread or an orgy of old. NO! We are focussing on new material, new newness. Below is a list of what we will do. More detailed announcements to come.

Ninja Tune XX Box Set out September 20th

It will include new music from Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, The Cinematic Orchestra, Kid Koala, Mr Scruff, The Bug, King Geedorah, Zomby, Jaga Jazzist, Bonobo, Toddla T, Daedelus, Dorian Concept, Eskmo, Floating Points, Jammer, Two Fingers, Wagon Christ, The Heavy, cLOUDDEAD and many others. And also include new remixes from Switch, Autechre, Benga, Cut Chemist, Modeselektor, Roots Manuva, Diplo, Gold Panda, Mark Pritchard, Amorphous Androgynous, Rustie, Prefuse 73, 808 State, Tunng, Todd Edwards, Scuba, Joe Goddard, King Jammy, The Orb, Tom Middleton, Micachu, Metronomy, Gaslamp Killer, Kronos Quartet, Dan Le Sac, Mala, El-P (and EL-B) and many more. Full tracklist here…

Three hardcover cases in a hardback box, all beautifully made and with foil-blocked text and general marvellousness by Openmind. It will fit into your library of rare and exclusive artifacts like a well oiled rude part into another complementarily-shaped rude part. Which is another way of saying that if you are a fetishiser of objects this is one you will HAVE. TO. HAVE. Surrender now.

• Case 1 contains 6 CDs of new exclusive music: 4 CDs of which will be released as two stand alone compilations (which will include a few recently released favourites as well as the wealth of exclusives found on the box set, apart from the 7 Inch's and CD5+6) + 2 CDs of music only available in this box set - i.e. not available digitally or anywhere outside the box set.
• Case 2 contains: 6 x 7" singles - all material only available in this box set + an inner pocket with a Ninja family tree poster by Nigel Peake + Ninja Artwork Poster
• Case 3 is the exclusive hardback edition of Black Dog Publishing book "NINJA TUNE: 20 Years of Beats and Pieces" by Stevie Chick (hardback edition only available in this box set)

Also note that each box set has a unique code and buyers can use this to register for more free yet high-grade goodies from future releases.

See the track lists for this monumental offering.

12"s for General Sale to the General Public who didn't buy the Box Set, Poor Lambs…

The Book

The paperback edition of "Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats and Pieces" will be available soon through Black Dog Publishing, as part of their acclaimed Labels Unlimited series. The book is written by esteemed music journalist Stevie Chick (a founder of Loose Lips Sinks Ships as well as long term NME scribe and current contributor to the Guardian, Mojo etc and author of books on Black Flag and Sonic Youth, amongst others) and includes exclusive interviews with key artists and label staff. Its 192 pages are also lavishly illustrated with original photographs, illustrations and flyers plundered from the depths of Ninja Tune and their artists' archives.

The Exhibition

A unique exhibition showcasing art, design and photography from Ninja Tune's last 20 years.

20th August – 16 September 2010
   Mon - Fri, 12-5pm

Black Dog Space
10a Acton St
London WC1X 9NG

To celebrate the release of new book 'Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces', the latest title in Black Dog Publishing’s Labels Unlimited series, Black Dog Space is presenting the exhibition 'Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces'. This will be the first exhibition in the UK dedicated to Ninja Tune and its offshoot labels. The exhibition coincides with Ninja Tune XX, a series of events celebrating 20 years of the label. 

Bringing together ephemera from two decades of Ninja Tune for the first time, the exhibition features posters, original drawings, paintings and 3D models and artwork from Ninja and its subsidiary labels, many never seen before outside of the Ninja offices; alongside a huge collection of flyers, stickers, special pressings, merchandise, promotional items, tour laminates, LP and CD sleeves, artwork, esoterica and more. 

In the final week of the exhibition, Black Dog will open a one day Ninja pop-up shop, selling many items of merchandise and music at discounted prices, including posters, clothing, rare promo CDs and other miscellanea. 

The Video Screening

Ninja Tune, BUG + onedotzero present a Ninja Tune Video Showcase, Friday 12th Nov in NFT 1, London. A selection of our very best and strangest videos, all in the comfort of a national film theatre. Get in the popcorn, the black polo neck sweater, a beret, and join us in this celebration of un certain regard within the fractured narrative of our post-musical music natch. If you just prefer to stay in then please check youtube.com/ninjatunexx where we're publishing classic Ninja videos on our channel in never-seen-before HQ or HD.

Ninja Tune XX Announcements

Get ready... For each of the 20 weeks leading up to the release date of the box set, we'll be giving away rare material and mixes from this special ninjatunexx site (despite the title, none of it will be porn.). Each item will be available for one week and one week only. In addition, we'll be unveiling brand new videos, running competitions, and announcing more details about NINJA TUNE XX.

Remember � in another twenty years time, we will all be wearing silver suits, smoking liquid ultra-meow through an alloy straw, dancing to jizstep, watching 4 dimensional ocelot and will have just elected the first Labour government in a generation. Don't miss out now. It's a fu*k of a long time to wait for another one...